DNA fingerprinting, or profiling, is widely used for paternity cases and criminal investigations (forensics). Current methodologies are cumbersome and often produce uninterpretable results. We have developed oligonucleotides containing a minor groove binder (MGB) that greatly enhance the performance and applicability of the 5' nuclease (fluorescence quench release or Taqman) assay in the discrimination of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We propose to develop a kit for rapid DNA finger- printing using our proprietary MGB-conjugated oligonucleotide probes. A panel of 20 previously described diallelic polymorphisms comprise the markers of the fingerprint. The probability that two unrelated individuals would have matching fingerprints is less that 1 in 107. In this phase I effort, we will design and optimize the PCR primers and probes for the 20 loci, and demonstrate function in 5' nuclease assays on a set of known DNA samples. In phase II, we will increase the throughput of the 20-marker panel by multiplexing. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: A genotyping (DNA fingerprinting, profiling,) kit for paternity testing and forensic applications. The same technology could be used for diagnosis of genetic diseases and also to categorize patients in clinical studies correlating genotypic markers with response to treatment.